It swelled, and then as gradually died away; but this time with a quavering modulation.
The men looked up, and round.

Some gazed at the upper part of the rock, some straight ahead, while others turned round and faced the forest.
"Search!" the officer shouted, furiously.

"Evil spirits or no evil spirits, not a man shall stir from here, until the place is searched." Then rose a shrill, vibrating sound, as if of eerie laughter.

Not even the officer's authority, or the fear of punishment, could restrain the soldiers.

With cries of alarm, they rushed across the ruins and plunged into the forest; followed, at a rate which he tried in vain to make dignified, by the officer who, as soon as he reached his horse, leapt upon it and galloped away.
The Burmese keenly appreciate a joke and, as soon as the troops had fled, the villagers and guards inside the temple threw themselves down on the ground, and roared with laughter.